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Dreamtime
(Simon A. Forward) |
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 March
2005 sees the release of "Dreamtime" that has
been written by Simon A Forward and has been directed
by Gary Russell. It was recorded on the 9th and 11th November
2004.
"Dreamtime"
is Simon A. Forward's second Doctor Who audio script,
his first being the 2002's "The
Sandman" and revisits his avian-descended creations
- The Galyari. This release is also the first Seventh
Doctor and Ace audio adventure since June
2004's "The
Harvest" and is the second appearance
by new companion Hex, played by Philip Olivier.
Joining
Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred and Philip Olivier are:
Tamzin Griffin, Jef Higgins, Brigid Lohrey, Josephine
Mackerras, Andrew Peisley, Steffan Rhodri and John Scholes.
What
does a deserted city, the Australian outback and outer
space have in common?
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| Seventh Doctor |
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The Doctor, Ace and their new companion Hex are about
to find out when the TARDIS
arrives in a deserted city, flying through space on an
asteroid, that travels the stars. A strange city inhabited
by stone ghosts and at its heart an ancient remembrance
of Earth.
But
they are not alone as mythical creatures stalk the streets
and alien visitors have come in search of trade. For Hex’s
first trip in the TARDIS, it’s about the strangest
place he could have imagined. Adjustment to his new life
could prove tough.
There
is a sense of bleakness as the travellers begin to explore
their strange surroundings. And then on the horizon they
spot what looks very much like Uluru - the famous Australian
natural landmark better known as Ayres Rock. If this weird
and dreamlike place is a bit too much for Hex it is, for
The Doctor and Ace, just all in a day’s work.
Luckily
for Hex he has The Doctor and Ace to look out for him.
But then Ace becomes injured and then The Doctor goes
missing - except for a standing stone where he was last
seen. It would seem that The Doctor has crossed into the
Dreamtime an otherworldly realm where nothing can be taken
for granted and where the dreamlike state encompasses
all...
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Ace |
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But
what is the Dreamtime and why is there a strong presence
of Aboriginal mythology? As The Doctor encounters a mythic
figure from Aboriginal folklore Ace and Hex are left to
cope with native Dream Commandos battling creatures that
emerge from the Dreaming. And then there are some visiting
Galyari, a race of nomadic reptilians, who have come looking
to trade and discover the secrets behind the technology
keeping the atmosphere in place onboard the asteroid.
But
this is not the first time that The Doctor’s path
has crossed those of the Galyari. The last time The Doctor
had to come to terms with his own place in the Galyari's
own legends as "The Sandman" - who according
to their legends is a figure who preys on the young and
old alike and steals people away in the night and who
also goes by the name of The Doctor!
This
time these alien traders, led by Galyari Commander Korshal,
have a single-mindedness to obtain at all costs what they
are after. But the Galyari were not expecting to come
face-to-face with The Doctor again. Nor were they expecting
the strange goings on in this strange city.
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Seventh
Doctor with Ace and Hex |
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Will
Hex be able to survive his first trip in the TARDIS -
a trip that has put him into a situation where he's totally
out of his depth especially when he finds himself without
the help of his fellow travelling companions? It is then
that he has to rely on his own resourcefulness and to
trust his own instincts if he is going to survive.
As
usual it is up to The Doctor to understand what is going
on and find a solution and so find a safe passage back
to the TARDIS. But first he has to find out why Baiame,
the spiritual All-Father, has been drawing many thousands
of people to Uluru and also come to terms with the cause
behind the desolated city that occupies the asteroid.
The
Doctor may have crossed into the Dreamtime, and is lucky
to have Ace and Hex to try and rescue him, but will he
be able to regain control of his own destiny? And will
Ace and Hex be able to overcome their own problems and
so come to The Doctor’s aid. With nothing as it
seems and not being able to trust even those who seem
to be your friends will they escape this mad city before
they all succumb to the Dreamtime…
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Notes:
- Featuring the Seventh
Doctor, Ace and Hex.
- Serial Number: 7WA
- Number of Episodes: 4
- Cover Length: 105 minutes
- Episode Lengths: 1 = 25'02", 2 = 24'18",
3 = 28'29", 4 = 28'18"
- Total Story Length: 106'07"
- This story is set after "Survival",
and follows "The
Harvest".
- Cover Illustration: Lee Binding
- Recorded: 9th and 11th November 2004
- Recording Location: The Moat Studios
- Released: March 2005
- ISBN: 1-84435-136-X
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On the Back Cover:
'The
Dreamtime is living Time. The Dreaming is living myth.'
A
city travels the stars, inhabited by stone ghosts. At
its heart, an ancient remembrance of Earth. Mythical
creatures stalk the streets and alien visitors have
come in search of trade. But there is nothing to trade.
Only fear. And death. And the stone ghosts.
For
Hex's first destination in the TARDIS, it's about the
strangest place he could have imagined. Weird and very
far from wonderful. Adjustment to his new life could
prove tough. But he will have to adjust and do more,
just to stay alive, and Ace will have to be his guide
through this lost city of shadows and predatory dreams.
And
The Doctor is the first to go missing.
The
Doctor has crossed into the Dreamtime. |
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On the Inside Cover:
MYTH
AND DOCTOR WHO GO HAND in hand, and I’ve
had what amounts to a life-long fascination with both.
Most myths remain a part of the ancient world, great
subjects for study and rich sources of tales. Certain
mythologies - Native American or those of the Australian
Aboriginal - are living myths, fluid and evolving in
their telling and retelling, even in our modern world.
Aboriginal
myth is so deeply embedded in the landscape that Australia
can be mapped as a collection of stories, with the continent
depicted not so much as a landmass but a ‘story
mass’. Similarly, our journey with The Doctor
is mapped through his adventures, and our Doctor Who
atlas is comprised of stories, rather than locations.
And
as much as Aboriginal myth is bound to the Australian
landscape, it is also powerfully evoked by the sounds
of the Aboriginal culture. So the story seemed made
for audio.
Of
course, this is a Doctor Who story, so there
are elements of sci-fi, space and futuristic technology.
But mythology can live quite happily alongside those
things, no matter how far-ranging or how far-advanced.
We can distance ourselves from ancient myth, but even
if we happen to listen to it on a CD, we all enjoy a
good story. Hopefully, that’s what I’ve
helped create here: another fascinating place on the
Doctor Who map.
|
Simon A. Forward,
August 2004 |
Simon A. Forward has now written three audio CD’s
for Big Finish, two Doctor Whos and a Bernice
Summerfield. All of these feature the Galyari, his
race of nomadic reptilians. He’s also written a
handful of Doctor Who novels for BBC Books and short stories
for Big Finish’s Short Trips anthologies.
None of those, however, feature headlining appearances
by the Galyari. ‘Why not?’ they ask in their
scary voices. Frankly, if we were him, we’d rectify
that before it’s too late... |
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Production Notes:
Simon A. Forward initially ran the idea of Dreamtime
past producer Gary Russell back in April 2003 - giving
this release one of the longest gestation periods in Big
Finish’s history! It was while he was putting together
ideas for a Bernice Summerfield/Galyari story that Forward
asked Russell if he could do something about Aboriginal
myths.
As
the story took shape over the months, one of the biggest
hurdles proved to be finding UK-based Aboriginal actors
and thus the concept of the Dream Commandos was adjusted
so that there was now a suggestion that Whitten’s
people and Baiame’s people had, over the generations,
inter-bred for survival. That said, Russell was determined
to use genuine Australians for the main roles and as
the UK is pretty full of Aussie thespians that made
life a great deal easier.
One
change made late on was the identity of the Galyari
commander - having asked Steffan Rhodri if he was free,
Russell then asked Forward if the commander in Dreamtime
could become the same one Rhodri had played in the Bernice
Summerfield adventure The Bone of Contention.
Forward readily agreed. |
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Who's Who?
The Seventh Doctor
First television appearance: "Time
and the Rani"
First chronological Big Finish audio appearance: "Bang-Bang-A-Boom!"
He
has been exploring the universe for hundreds of years.
He fights injustice. He defeats evil. He helps people.
The Doctor and Ace have had many adventures now - and
they’ve recently been joined by Hex, a youthful
former nurse from the twenty-first century. In this regeneration,
The Doctor can be impish, devious even, but also greatly
compassionate; whimsy and melancholy do battle inside
this persona, but his friends know they can always rely
on him...
Ace
First television appearance: "Dragonfire"
First chronological Big Finish audio appearance: "The
Fearmonger"
Dorothy
McShane, who liked to be known as Ace, was a schoolgirl
living in Perivale, west London, when she was transported
far across time and space to the Iceworld colony by a
time storm. Here, she met The Doctor and since then the
pair have travelled the universe together, fighting evils
and righting wrongs. Over time, a close bond developed
between the two, but Ace has recently become disillusioned,
affected by the trail of death that seems to follow them
everywhere, and has lately been calling herself McShane...
Hex
First chronological Big Finish audio appearance: "The
Harvest"
Thomas
Hector Schofield discovered at quite an early age that
the name ‘Hector’ wasn’t exactly designed
to give him she easiest of times growing up in a Merseyside
school, so he began referring himself as 'Hex'. Moving
down from Merseyside to London to complete his medical
training, Hex began working as a staff nurse at St Gart’s
Hospital in Shoreditch. There he encountered she strange
but rather compelling administrative assistant who called
herself McShane and her odd friend The Doctor, who claimed
he could travel in space and time... |
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Full Cast List:
| The Doctor |
Sylvester McCoy |
| Ace |
Sophie Aldred |
| Hex |
Philip Olivier |
| Trade Negotiator Vresha |
Tamzin Griffin |
| Co-Ordinator Whitten |
Jef Higgins |
| Dream Commando Wahn |
Brigid Lohrey |
| Leanne Toomey |
Josephine Mackerras |
| Dream Commando Mulyan |
Andrew Peisley |
| Commander Korshal |
Steffan Rhodri |
| Baiame |
John Scholes |
The Production Team:
| Writer |
Simon A. Forward |
| Director |
Gary Russell |
| Sound/Music |
Steve Foxon |
| Theme Music |
David Darlington |
| Producers |
Gary Russell and
Jason Haigh-Ellery |
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